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Only But Not Lonely:
12 Awesome Books for Only Children

by Tom Burns

Photo credit: John M Lund Photography Inc, DigitalVision/Getty Images

The Boxcar Children, the Pevensie family, the Weasley twins, the Baudelaire siblings — children’s literature has a long history of celebrating the virtues of having a brother or a sister (or both). But what about the only children, the kids who have to solve mysteries or rule Narnia all on their own? Who celebrates them? (Aside from their parents.)

Only children are a special, self-reliant breed who aren’t defined by their lack of siblings. If you have just one kid (or if your kid is just sick of their siblings at the moment), here are some terrific kids’ books that really show off what it means to be an empowered “only.”

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in 2015 and updated in 2021.